At this point, Charles and his party had already descended to the second level of the mine.
Following the clues under his feet and the route in his memory, Charles held his shield aloft, the Light spell's brilliance illuminating the way ahead. He compared the path before him to his memories from the game, trying his best to identify the correct route.
However, the actual mine was much more complex than the narrow map in the game. With three total levels and interconnected, overlapping areas, it was enough to make his head spin.
Just like now: the unfamiliar layout left him uncertain which way to go—left or right.
"Andny, send your vampire bats ahead to scout," he finally ordered in resignation. "Dispatch some down each of these two forks, and look for signs of giant spiders or spider webs."
"Understood!" Andny nodded, closed her eyes, and channeled magical power. Just as her vampire bats shot forward, she suddenly screamed, "Master, look out! Something's coming from the right!"
Charles whipped around, peering down the dark right cavern in alarm. A revolting, horrifying monster slowly revealed its silhouette.
Catching sight of the foe, Charles was more excited than frightened, even itching for battle—after all, this was the very first enemy they'd encountered while delving deeper into the mine.
Of course, before they arrived, Anno's party had already passed through, wiping out most of the monsters and undead; the only ones left now were those few lucky stragglers that had escaped Anno's earlier rampage.
He watched intently—and a brand new type of enemy appeared.
It was a classic Ghoul: hairless, moving on all fours, its skin covered in thickened keratin, sporting a gaping, stinking maw of fangs.
These creatures usually lurked in graveyards or wherever corpses piled up, sometimes roaming the wilderness too.
But despite their name, Ghouls didn't actually need to feed, nor did they live on corpses alone. Instead, their insatiable hunger compelled them to gnaw on the dead, and when they couldn't find corpses, they'd hunt the living to make new ones.
Charles had never run into them back on Garbage Island—who'd have guessed he'd find one here?
He silently pulled a mask from his pocket and put it on, handing out masks to the girls as well. Nidalee drew a throwing spear from behind her back, ready to slay the monster from a distance, but Charles called out, "No need—I'll handle it myself."
Theresa, standing beside Nidalee, had no intention of acting. She knew Charles needed to purify these undead to strengthen himself, so she'd planned to sit back and watch from the start.
Charles advanced, shield raised, crouched low. The Ghoul spotted him, sped up, then suddenly lunged off its hind legs like a huge hound pouncing—
But Charles didn't panic. He was no longer a rookie. He twisted sideways, blocked with his shield, causing the Ghoul's attack to miss, then took a step forward, grabbed its arm, and let out a low command: "Purified!"
Buzz——
White purifying light erupted, instantly enveloping the undead's body!
"Aaah—!"
The Ghoul shrieked from its rotting throat, clawing desperately for him. Charles quickly pinned it with his shield, and after a brief struggle, the undead collapsed into ash.
Charles opened his system interface, delighted to see a gain of 200 Purification Points.
That much? Not bad!
Well, it made sense: after all, leveling up the system had taken almost six seconds to purify it—even nearly let it claw him in return.
He wasn't sure if this ghoul was particularly strong, or if all ghouls were like that…
Suppressing his excitement, he asked, "Andny, have your vampire bats investigate—the main nest should be nearby."
Andny nodded, closed her eyes again, then opened them a moment later, her pupils flashing. "Found it, Master! Deep down the left passage, I spotted spider webs!"
Upon hearing this, Charles let out a breath of relief. "Good! That's where the spider nest is. Everyone, pick up the pace—we're almost there!"
Upon hearing this, Charles let out a breath of relief. "Good! That's where the spider nest is. Everyone, pick up the pace—we're almost there!"
Unable to contain his excitement, he dashed ahead.
Meanwhile, deep within The Tide Caverns—
Anno slowly awoke. As soon as she opened her eyes, she was greeted by a hellish scene.
It was a sizable underground cavern, with no light from the outside world, only a white magic stone hanging from the ceiling, emitting a faint glow, barely illuminating the interior.
Pure white, massive spider webs covered nearly every surface—floor and walls—sticky and thick, weaving the entire cave together. Nestled in one corner lay several milky, basketball-sized giant eggs. It was obvious what they contained. Beside each egg rested the corpse of a woman, apparently recently deceased, perhaps either food for the master of this place, or intended as the first meal for the being within those eggs.
At once, this scene awakened old memories in Anno's mind.
After setting out that day, her party had faced a pack of wolves, a group of orc bandits, and an ogre's lair. After sleeping a night at the entrance to this cave, they'd entered here.
The initial fighting went smoothly; with their abilities, slaying the local undead was no problem.
The first two days passed with such ease that they let down their guard slightly, failing to notice the drow's sleeping incense, their senses dulled—they walked right into an ambush.
They'd fallen into the Drider's webbing, bound together, and beset by giant spiders. Anno had fought as hard as she could, but the enemy's strength was overwhelming: eventually, they were all taken captive.
Damn it—expecting only ordinary undead, she'd never imagined such a powerful foe!
That Drider could travel at lightning speed across the cave with spider silk, wielded a deadly blade, strikingly fast—and, most crucially, wielded fearsome magic. Even recalling her made Anno's scalp tingle.
But it was too late for regrets. All she could do now was try to save herself!
Suppressing her frustration, Anno scanned her surroundings and saw her three teammates, all tied up: the female brass Dragonborn barbarian, the female gnome mage, and their red-haired team captain, the married warrior Bonnie.
Perhaps the Drider observed gender separation, or perhaps the other four male party members had already been turned into food—or fed to the giant spiders.
Whatever the case, Anno's three female teammates were now bound tightly by spider silk, slumped against the wall, eyes closed, still heavily unconscious. Anno struggled against her own restraints, only now realizing she too was trussed up in thick webbing.
Worse, her chainmail had been stripped away, leaving her in nothing but a thin, close-fitting cotton undershirt, her curves tightly outlined by the confining silk—ample chest and athletic form on display.
But, in this moment, she truly couldn't care about modesty. Seeing her friends still unconscious, she whispered frantically, "Bonnie! Wake up! Bonnie!"
The red-haired warrior's brows twitched. She slowly opened her eyes in confusion. "Anno?"
Then, realizing their predicament, she looked down at her own ample chest, cinched deeply by the spider-silk, and her frown deepened. "This is just…"
Anno breathed a sigh of relief—her friend was alive. Knowing her own lack of wilderness experience, she quickly whispered, "Any way for us to free ourselves? Did you happen to keep a knife or something to cut the webs?"
Bonnie's brows knitted as she shifted, reaching her hands—bound behind her—toward her rounded hips. She shook her head. "No, the foe was thorough and stripped everything from me."
"Anno, see if you can feel any sharp stones behind you. Try to rub the webbing against the rock."
At that, Anno pressed her back to the wall, felt a sharp protrusion, and brightened. "Yes! I'll start grinding!"
Hope welled up in her. Bonnie too found a sharp stone. The two women began sawing at the webbing, their chests trembling with the effort. But suddenly, a witch-like laugh echoed from outside: "Hehehehe—"
"What adorable mothers you are! Even now, thinking how to win your freedom."
"Too bad, you have none. Just lie still and bear my darling spider eggs!"
Anno and Bonnie twisted in horror. With mocking laughter, a massive silhouette strode from the cave's dark depths.
It was the very Drider who had defeated and captured them!
Her upper body was that of a beautiful female dark elf—black lustrous skin, pure white long hair, lovely face, full chest, slender waist, and a sexy navel. But below her navel, her beauty turned monstrous: her lower body was a spider, the size of a bull, with eight purple, fur-tufted legs stepping soundlessly across the web.
This woman was none other than Ilthreza—the rebellious Drider with restored free will, whose name Charles knew well!
She was a genius, a true polymath, but also mad, always conducting taboo biological experiments. It was precisely because of those dark experiments that the Demon Queen of Spiders had turned her into this form!
And from her words, it seemed she intended to perform yet another wicked experiment upon Anno and her companions.
"You demon!"
Anno spat, glaring in fury, but the Drider ignored her, striding to Bonnie, and, in the latter's terrified gaze, using two forelegs to caress the woman's ample chest and plump hips.
"What a perfect form," she murmured, admiringly. "Ideal for breeding—I almost hate to see you die after just one egg, dear human."
"But whether you live depends on how hard you try."
"Get off me!" Bonnie roared, face hard with wrath, "I'll never let you touch me—"
But Ilthreza had no care for her victim's will. Her two spider forelegs, as dexterous as hands, swiftly stripped Bonnie's last garment, exposing shapely thighs and a profusely hairy lower body.
With her spider limbs, she spread Bonnie's legs wide, and then, from beneath her spider abdomen, she extended a thick, arm-sized, crimson, fleshy appendage, corrugated and knobby, with a pinhole tip.
That thing couldn't possibly be a proper drider organ, but it obeyed Ilthreza's will, extending towards Bonnie's exposed body.
The married, red-haired female warrior's rage vanished, replaced by terror. "No, you can't—you can't do this—Ugh—oh—!"
Ilthreza, cruel and pitiless, ignored her pleas. With a surge from her lower body, the fleshy shaft drove deep inside the woman, its bumps and ridges mercilessly stimulating, drawing uncontrollable moans from Bonnie's throat.
"Ah… now I understand why men are so addicted to this."
Above, Ilthreza hugged her own chest, sighing in delight. Clearly, she'd intentionally remodeled her body—producing this bizarre, nerve-rich appendage.
But, instead of moving it in and out like a man might, she took a deep breath, braced her spider hips—
And the long shaft swelled and contracted with each pulse, forcibly pumping strange liquid deep inside Bonnie's body!
"Oh—not—please—ohhhhh—!"
Bonnie gasped and whimpered. The intense stimulation sent shudders through her, sweat pouring down her back.
Her belly visibly swelled, ballooning to the size of a woman nine months pregnant in less than a minute!
What's she putting inside me?!
Bonnie had no idea. Terror of the unknown filled her heart. She desperately tried to struggle—but she could not even budge against the Drider's strength.
All she could do was curse.
"You damn—monster—!"
Her shout roused the other two slumbering women. The brass Dragonborn barbarian snapped her eyes open, furious at the blasphemous violation. Golden vertical pupils blazing with rage: "Let her go, you bastard demon! If you've got guts, come for me instead!"
Meanwhile, the gnome was so terrified she burst into tears, shrinking away, her eyes fearful as she stared at the grotesque flesh column, unable to imagine what would happen if it were to violate her as well.
"Oh…"
Finally, the injection ended. The Drider sighed, then withdrew her fleshy appendage, setting Bonnie back down.
Pop—
"Ah…"
The moist sound of flesh separating echoed. Bonnie's womanhood closed, but none of the injected liquid leaked out.
Her belly stayed huge, as if nine months pregnant. Bonnie let out a heavy sigh and collapsed, left with no strength, her harsh breathing echoing through the cavern.
"Just wait, my sweet surrogate mothers," the Drider smiled. But her words made the blood run cold: "In less than a week, you'll give birth to my precious spider children, just like the others here."
"Hehe, I hope you survive the egg-laying. Don't die like they did…"
On the wall, Anno's vision burned with hatred. Hearing this, she now understood the truth: those dead women had perished bearing such spider eggs!
"Beast! The gods will judge you!" she spat. "You will face justice!"
The Drider merely glanced her way and smiled. "Don't worry, little girl."
"Your body isn't fit for it yet. And I only inject one a day. Don't worry—by the day after tomorrow at the latest, it will be your turn."
She then turned to the cursing brass Dragonborn, her expression feverish. "Such a strong form, muscles rippling everywhere~"
"Don't fret. Be patient. Tomorrow I'll come for you, and give you my darling baby… hehehe…"
But suddenly, she fell silent.
She turned, looking outside, her brow furrowed. "Someone's coming?"
Anno scowled as well. Even she now sensed the vibrations rippling through the webs!
Someone was coming, deliberately making noise, trying to draw their attention!
Hope surged within her chest.
Could it be… someone coming to save us?
Meanwhile, outside—
Confronted by a massive crossroad, every surface—ground, walls, even ceiling—thickly coated with milky spider silk, Charles stroked his chin, troubled.
It wasn't for lack of knowledge about Ilthreza's location: Andny's vampire bats had already gone inside, seen Anno safe and sound, and witnessed Ilthreza injecting a gelatinous, half-formed spider egg into another red-haired female warrior.
He knew where the boss's chamber and the captives were, and he'd scouted out the remaining passages—each filled with some giant spiders and spider eggs.
However, this sticky webbing made things tricky. The giant spiders skittered across it with ease, but Charles's team would get stuck like boots in mud.
They hadn't brought 500 gold "Spider-walking Boots" to avoid that fate—so if they just charged in, they'd risk ending up stuck themselves.
But suddenly, inspiration struck.
Hiss… is our team perhaps stronger than all the remaining foes in The Tide Caverns combined?
Yes—Anno's group had already cleared out nearly all the cannon fodder; that's why, as they'd come through, the mine had been so eerily quiet—no skeletons or the like.
So these leftover giant spiders, plus Ilthreza—could they even hope to match Theresa?
Realizing his party's crushing superiority, Charles felt his heart pound, then immediately ordered, "Andny, vibrate the webs—draw every spider and foe in the nest out to us!"
Spiders sense prey by reading vibrations through webs. Charles would now reverse the tactic—drawing them all out to open ground, away from the sticky webs, and force a decisive battle!
It was his current plan, and at least in these opening moments, it seemed to work. He could already see the giant black shapes of spiders swarming from the depths, preparing to surround them.
These massive spiders, bull-sized, skittered at high speed on all eight legs, rushing in from every direction, every inch killers on the hunt!
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